The in-service educational needs of front line homelessness service staff in a Generic Homelessness Service to deliver Child Aware Practice in accordance with the ‘no wrong door’ policy project report 2014

This research project used several methods of community inclusion and participation in order to sponsor maximum staff and parent involvement and to reflect the concerns and benefits of the Inner Southern Homelessness Service use. Consequently, this report reflects the views of the staff, parents, and researchers. Two staff presentations included the initial research project proposal and the interim research findings enabling the inclusion of staff involvement in the research process and the provision of feedback into the final report. Homelessness often occurs from the culmination of several life factors including unemployment, poverty, and family breakdown, and can be defined as ‘inadequate access to safe and secure housing’ that results in: damage to the person’s health; threats to the person’s safety; marginalisation of the person minimising access to personal amenities, economic participation and social support; or places the person at risk of safe, secure, adequate and affordable housing. Unemployment, poverty and the inability to afford adequate housing are central to the causes of homelessness. Further, the homeless are socially isolated and living on the margins of society prior to periods of homelessness. Additionally, homelessness impacts the disenfranchised (Young 1992) and vulnerable for example although aboriginal people compose only 2% of the Australian population they make up 20% of those receiving housing assistance or in homeless population (Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission 2008).